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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Sloppy Joes - Middle School Culinary Throwdown

Sixth Grade Culinary Throwdown

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Will he cook? To be sure! Will he be a cook? I suspect not. His smile, for a least another year, is blinding bright, but it's a perfect match for an upbeat disposition, that as yet, shows no signs of teenage angst. He loves numbers and music and, having seen Wright's Falling Waters, concluded he would like to be an architect. His fallback plan, at least this year, is plasma physics. Zach is my oldest grandson. His love of food and cooking has convinced me that there is a recessive gene for food that scientists have yet to identify. There has to be an inherited component to this addiction we pass on to our children. Zach is wearing chef's whites, because food service providers in his school district sponsored a culinary "throwdown" and invited seventh graders to participate. Zach loves to cook and was one of the first of his classmates to register for the competition. The book of life will show their dishes took no prizes, but they won hearts and the team spirit award for their congeniality. That's my guy!

Our children and grandchildren learn to cook at an early age. It starts with pancakes on Saturday morning and they graduate to more involved cooking as they get older. This summer, I've worked on recipes the older grandchildren can make on their own while they're visiting with us. While the dishes are easy to prepare, they are also delicious and I hope the boys will have fun making them. I won't be posting most of them because they are so simple to make, that I'm afraid I'll offend you. You can be sure that those that make it to One Perfect Bite are "best of show" and will work well, especially for those of you who will be feeding teens this summer. Here's the first recipe I want to share with you.
Sloppy Joes...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1-1/4 cups ketchup
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
8 sandwich buns, split
Directions:
1) Cook beef and onion in a large skillet set over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain.
2) Stir in ketchup, water, brown sugar, vinegar, salt, mustard, chili powder and allspice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 35-40 minutes or until heated through.
3) Spoon about 1/2 cup meat mixture onto each bun. Yield: 8 servings.

80 comments
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That is wonderful! You open up your kids' worlds to cooking at an early age; I wish I learned to cook as a little kid. I can only fantasize about weekend brunches with my family, where we all sit together and enjoy a gourmet, fresh platter created by me.

Sloppy joes are so delicious. Not gourmet in the original sense, but being brought back to the cuisine scene. It is a flavor and food experience never to be forgotten. Thanks for the recipe! Love the bright pics you take!

Mary...Zach has your cooking skill genes for sure :)) and you have taught your grandkids well...being able to cook at an early age is a survival skill ! God bless you and the grandchildren are so blessed to have you as their grandma :)Have a great day,Elin

Oh, Mary, your Zach is adorable!! I know you have spent many precious hours enjoying time with him in the kitchen. I believe those times are the most endearing and enduring (for memory making --our family shares that food gene). And, thank you for the sloppy joe recipe! I was about to make my old standby and will enjoy trying a new version! blessings ~ tanna

Mary, he is following you proudly. And, darn, he's cute!! I truly admire you for patiently teaching the boys to cook. Someday, there will be very luckily wives in the world you will share their kitchens with a talented husband.

What a wonderful opportunity your school district provided! I love your grandson's smile. I appreciate you sharing this series of recipes. Our children are active in the kitchen and it is nice to have a number of different dishes for them to try. Take care.

He looks so good in Chef whites!! How fun for him too.. I wish they had done something like that when I was in 6th grade..I'm so jealous!And the sloppy joe... love them! I could probably eat sloppy joes at least once, maybe even twice a week :)

Congratulations to Zach for the team spirit award! It's wonderful you're encouraging and teaching him how to cook!! Whether or not he becomes a chef, he'll certainly use his skills to please himself and his future family.

I'm excited to see your simple recipes. I've never in my life made sloppy joes from scratch. I just always opened up a can of Manwich so it's nice to see how to actually make it. Thank you! :)

I think recipes for kids learning to cook is a wonderful thing (and a new blog idea if you were thinking you didn't have QUITE enough to do, haha!) I wish I had gotten my oldest involved in cooking from an early age. She can make KD and heat up soup, but past that? Notsomuch. My fault, I know.

Such a cutie! How fun, I also cook with my three granddaughters and we have such a fun time. What a great legacy you are passing on! A knowledge and love for cooking is something they will benefit for all their lives!

What a cute kid and your recipe reminds me of the year I spent in the US (in Ohio to be precise) as an exhcange student more years than I care to remember ago where Sloppy Joes were served at all the BBQs.

I've been working on a cookbook for my daughter - who at 21 yo is much older than your grandson - to take to her first college apartment. I'll be watching you closely as I'm sure you will have many appropriate dishes for her. The challenge for me has been that the recipes have to be nutritional and inexpensive;use typical ingredients; be simple, time efficient and tasty; and be made with a minimum of equipment since not many college kids have a fully stocked and equipped kitchen at their disposal. It's been a fun challenge!

I think it's wonderful that you teach your kids and grandkids to cook at an early age. It's so important for them to develop good eating habits, and really appreciate the effort that goes into making great food. Your grandson looks like he had fun, too!

This looks s bit like my sloppy joe recipe, I have one called "Not so Sloppy Joes". What a great idea for the school to have a throwdown! I love that show with Bobby flay. It will be such a good thing to get them involved with cooking, and show them it is not only for women! He looks so happy! You cannot get too simple for me, I would especially like to see those recipes!! And I think other followers would too, being as we want out of the house quick in the summer. I am not able to stand for very long anymore, so this really limits what I can cook. Your grand children's recipes would be just the thing!!

Mary, This is not only wonderfully heartwarming but a tummy warming recipe too! Oh what a delightful post!Kudos to your grandson, he might not have won culinary first prize but he won our hearts! sigh! Adorable!xo Yvonne

ha! yeah, i think there must be some genes running in the family that all of your grandchildren love to cook. How can they not be? they are always surrounded by you and great food! dont think you will offen dus for simple recipes..sometimes we need that too! cheers!

Oh, this is great! It's so wonderful to see kids cooking, and especially boys at that awkward age in middle school where they want to be popular and macho. Good for your grandson, doing what he enjoys!

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